Bengals bottom out

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dthompson@journalnet.com

GREELEY, Colo. -- As Idaho State attempted one final, futile drive, the Northern Colorado pep band started up again.

Their members first sang an impromptu rendition of "We are the Champions."

Then the conductor roused them into "Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Hey,

Goodbye" as the final seconds ticked off of Northern Colorado's 29-9 victory over Idaho State.

The Bengals made their way through the drizzle and back to their locker rooms, and behind them the Bears players sang their fight song in front of the band while most of the estimated crowd of 3,683 enjoyed a rare victory.

The nation's fourth-longest losing streak ended Saturday. The third-longest reached 10.

For the Bengals, the downs certainly outnumbered the ups Saturday at Nottingham Field in Greeley, Colo., a city in which they hadn't lost since 1961. They gave up two safeties, missed a field goal and botched the snap on another attempt. They didn't throw a touchdown pass for the first time in five games and turned the ball over five times.

All those Idaho State mistakes translated into a dominant day for Northern Colorado (1-4, 1-1), which won for the first time since Oct. 27, 2007 -- one week after Idaho State (0-6, 0-3) recorded its most recent victory.

"If I sat here and dwelled on it," senior tackle Evan-Dietrich Smith said of the losing streak, "I probably wouldn't be as good as I am. I'd just sit there and still be thinking about the first loss. You've gotta have thick skin, take it how it was and work as hard as you can."

The 20-point margin of defeat was the biggest for Idaho State in a conference game since a 45-24 loss at Northern Arizona on Oct. 13, 2007, which was one week before Idaho State beat Portland State 38-20 for its most recent overall victory.

On Saturday, players said the rain wasn't a factor to them -- though quarterback Russel Hill said the two teams were using different footballs and that Idaho State's weren't as easy to grip when they were wet. Using the footballs Hill said Idaho State had last year, Northern Colorado never fumbled or threw an interception.

Hill didn't look comfortable handling the ball most of the game. He tied a season-high with four interceptions, and he said he bobbled or flat out muffed at least five snaps from center Ryan Henry. One of them cost the Bengals a safety.

Hill finished 23-of-42 for 237 yards and zero touchdowns, his first game without a touchdown pass since the opener at Boise State. As a team, the Bengals were outgained 403 to 262, converted just 3-of-13 third downs and sustained just one drive for more than 60 yards.

"We have to clean up some stuff," Hill said. "Especially at my position."

Idaho State only had the ball for 22 minutes, 51 seconds -- nearly 15 fewer minutes than Northern Colorado -- and the turnovers meant the Bengals' defense was almost always backed up with momentum and field position against them.

Those mistakes negated another serviceable performance by the defense, which pitched a second-half shutout for the first time in Zamberlin's tenure.

"They did everything we expected," said senior safety Rashaad Richards, who finished with a team-high 16 tackles. "We were prepared for everything they did. I thought we got them out of their game plan."

In the first half, though, Northern Colorado built a 29-9 lead that proved more than enough to withstand Idaho State and its struggling offense.

Junior quarterback Bryan Waggener connected with Jason Caprioli and Alex Thompson for touchdowns of three and 28 yards, respectively. Later, Tyrone Wilson slipped free of two tackles and then busted loose for a 75-yard touchdown. On the extra-point attempt, kicker Michael York picked up a botched snap and ran in for the two-point conversion.

An 18-yard York field goal and two safeties filled in the rest of the Bears' scores. The first safety came on the fourth play from scrimmage, when Idaho State long snapper Chris Kirkegaard launched the ball over Jon Vanderwielen's head and into the end zone. The second safety -- Northern Colorado's final points -- came on a botched snap that Hill fell on in his own end zone.

Junior running back Clint Knickrehm scored Idaho State's only touchdown on a three-yard run midway through the first quarter. Idaho State also recorded a safety when Jeremy Gibson blocked a punt, the first time the team had done so since 2006. Three Bengals players tried to fall on the ball, but none could control it before it bounded out the back of the end zone for a safety.

That gave Idaho State some momentum. But the team lost it on the ensuing drive when junior Jarrett Huk missed a 40-yard field goal wide right. In the second half, junior Mike Ramos jogged out for the team's other field-goal attempt, but holder Kyle Blum mishandled the snap before Ramos could attempt the kick.

Who kicks next week against Northern Arizona at Holt Arena is yet to be seen.

For as discouraged as the Bengals were after the loss, the Bears seemed equally buoyant. They had lost their last three games by a total of 10 points, and UC Davis needed a last-second Hail Mary to beat them last week.

"It feels great, especially after the last few weeks when we thought we should've won," Waggener said. "It's awesome."

No doubt the Bengals know the feeling.

Part of it, anyway.

By Dan Thompson

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